meteoriticaladj.
/ˌmiːtɪəˈrɪtᵻkl/, U.S. /ˈˌmidiəˈrɪdək(ə)l/ Astronomy and Geology.
= meteoritic adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > constellation > comet or meteor > meteor > [adjective]
meteorical1649
meteorous1667
meteoric1785
meteoritical1939
the world > the universe > cosmology > astronomy > meteor > [adjective]
meteoritical1939
1939 Pop. Astron. 47 328 The Editor ventures the following suggestions relative to three..meteoritical terms.
1946 Pop. Astron. 54 430 These amendments went into effect at the adjournment of the meeting on September 10; whereupon the name of the Society was officially changed from ‘The Society for Research on Meteorites’..to ‘The Meteoritical Society’. (It is hardly necessary to add that meteoritical is merely the adjective of meteoritics, defined as ‘the science of meteorites and meteors’.)
1950 New Mexico Q. Autumn 270 The Institute of Meteoritics, the first scientific organization, at least in the English-speaking world, devoted to meteoritical research.
1988 Science 29 July 565 Meteoritical evidence for high temperatures (1500 k to 2000 k) in the inner solar nebula.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1939